Container



J. G. 'O'NEIL June 23, 1959 CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1954 INVENTOR. Jomv 6} 0'N//- B June 23, 1959 ONEIL v 2,891,713

CONTAINER Filed Oct. 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

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United States Patent OfiFice 2,891,713 Patented June 23,1959

CONTAINER John G. ONeil, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Safe- Pack Container (30., Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Application October 6, 1954, Serial No. 460,542

3 Claims. (Cl. 229--51) This invention relates to a container and method of making the same.

Many products are now marketed in closed and sealed containers, including many food products, liquids and beverages. With such sealed containers it is desirable to have a simple and easy way of opening the container.

It is an object of this invention therefore to produce a container which is tightly closed and sealed and yet which can be opened widely so that the articles therein can be removed without being damaged or distorted.

It is another object of the invention to provide a container and method of making the same, which container is made from a sheet of flexible material, preferably of rectangular form, and which is bent into tubular form to have overlappingedge portions, a strip of sealing material connecting and sealing said edge portions, said container having a line of scoring adjacent at least one end extending circumferentially thereof, together with caps for the ends of said container, one of which adjacent said line of scoring is connected to said strip so that the container can be readily completely opened by pressing on the same, as with the thumb, adjacent said line of scoring at the side opposite said overlapping portions, then lifting said cap to sever the same along said line of scoring, and then moving the same longitudinally of said container to pull said strip to the other end of said container, thus opening said container along one side.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container made from a sheet of flexible material, the same comprising an intermediate layer of material, such as heavy paper or cardboard, and outer layers of thin metal foil, said sheet being bent into tubular form with overlapping portions, a sealing strip disposed between said overlapping portions for connecting and sealing the same, covers at the ends of said container, and a line of scoring adjacent at least one of said covers, said cover being connected to said strip and said line of scoring comprising a line of spaced perforations extending through said intermediate layer and the foil layer at one side being pressed into said perforations, the other foil layer being unbroken, whereby a container is produced which is perfectly sealed and which can be completely opened by pressing on the same adjacent said line of scoring at the side opposite said strip to partially sever said cap, then lifting said cap and severing it along said line of scoring and moving the same longitudinally of said container with said strip to open said container along one side.

It is still another object of the invention to provide such a container as set forth in the preceding paragraph in which said line of scoring will be made adjacent each of the closing caps.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the finished container;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation illustrating a portion of the opening method;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation showing the cover or cap of the container raised or opened;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation illustrating how the container is opened at one side;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation showing a container completely opened at one side;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the sheet from which the container is made, also showing a scoring tool used;

Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation showing a device for scoring the sheet;

Fig. 8 is a view showing a scoring tool in side elevations at right angles to each other;

Fig. 9 illustrates the scoring operation;

Fig. 10 is a partial radial vertical section of the top portion of said container; and

Fig. 11 is an exaggerated fragmentary transverse sectional view through the longitudinal seam of the container taken on the line XIXI of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 6, a sheet of material 15 .is shown in plan, the same being of rectangular form. While various structures of sheets may be used in making the present container, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, said sheet comprises an intermediate layer 15a which will be made of strong heavy paper or cardboard, and outer layers 15b of thin metal foil. While foils of dilferent metals might be used, in practice a thin foil of aluminum has been found satisfactory. A line of scoring is made adjacent at least one end of sheet 15. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, such a line of scoring is made adjacent both ends of sheet 15. The line of scoring 150 comprises a series of spaced perforations 15111 in the intermediate sheet 15a, and the outer layer 15b of foil is pressed into said perforations without being broken or perforated. The inner layer 15b remains in fiat unbroken form.

A special tool 16 'has been produced to make the said line of scoring 15c. Said tool16 has a lower cylindrical portion which is beveled to a central point or, line 16a. A central slot 16b is made in the tool so that a pair of spaced chisel portions are formed. The lower corners of said chisel portions are rounded on a rather small radius. In some of said tools said radius has been .005 of an inch. Tool 16 has a shank 16c by means of which it will be held in a carrying member 17. The line of scoring 150 is made by pressing tool 16 against the sheet 15. The tool enters the sheet to a sufficient distance to perforate the intermediate layer 15a. The outer foil layer 1512 is quite flexible and somewhat ductile and is merely pressed into the perforation 15a1 without :being broken. With such a line of scoring the sheet can be ruptured by pressure on the sheet or container locally and adjacent to said line of scoring.

The sheet 15 so provided with the scoring line or lines is then bent into closed or tubular form with overlapping edge portions. A sealing strip 18 is placed between the overlapping portions and said portions are pressed against said strip so that the overlapping portions are connected and the tubular member perfectly sealed. Strip 18 will be an adhesive strip, such as the well known adhesive tapes which will be reinforced by several spaced longitudinally extending fibres. An acetate strip which can be heat sealed and which is reinforced by fibres or a fibrous fabric can be used. When the sheet is thus made into a tubular member, closure covers or caps 20 will be applied to its ends. While these caps can be of various kinds, they should be such that the top of the container and particularly the sealing strip 18 is secured thereto. The type of cap illustrated has a central portion 20a and circumferentially extending spaced flanges 20b and 200 upstanding therefrom, the material of said cap extending upwardly and being reversely bent to form said flanges. The flanges 20b and 200 are pressed against the ends of; said tube and the material of the tube, including the interposed sealing strip 18 (Fig. ll), and the flanges are sealed together. In practice, the flanges 20b and 200 are given one or more circumferential and spaced crimps Zflbl and 2001 to make a perfect seal. The flat central portion 20a of the caps 26 is shown as having a circular portion 20:11 pressed upwardly therefrom from which extend radial portions 20612 also pressed up therefrom. The container is now closed and perfectly sealed. It will of course be understood that the material to be carried in the container will be placed therein before the top cap is placed thereon. The container so formed will withstand quite high pressures. Some materials now packed and marketed in such containers are placed under pressure.

Preferably in practice all of the printing on the container is done before the sheets are bent into tubular form. In practice it is also preferred to have a strip of sheet material constituting two or more of the sheets which are cut on transverse lines to form the individual sheets.

When the container is to be opened, the operator will press on the container adjacent one of the scored lines 150 at a point opposite the sealing strip 13 or at another point spaced from said sealing strip. The portion to be pressed upon will be indicated by being of a different color, as shown at 15d. When the container is so pressed upon, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the same is ruptured for a short distance along the scored line 150. If the container is one in which there is pressure, such rupturing will partially sever the cap and the pressure in the container will force the cap up to the position shown in Fig. 3. If there is no pressure in the container, the cap can easily be lifted to the position shown in Fig. 3 and thus severed along the scored line 15c, except at the positive hinge connection formed by the overlapped marginal edge portions and interposed sealing tape 18. It is preferred to open the container along one side. This is necessary in some cases so as not to crush or damage the contents. After the cap 20 is in the position shown in Fig. 3, the operator will take hold of the cap and pull downwardly on the same or in a direction longitudinally of the container. The strip 18 will now be pulled loose along the length of the container, as indicated in Fig. 4, and the overlapped portions will be released so that the container will now be open along the side thereof, as shown in Fig. 5. The container is now in fully opened condition and the contents can be dumped therefrom or removed therefrom without damage.

From the above description it will be seen that I have produced a container which is quite simple in form and highly eflicient for the purpose intended. The container can be inexpensively made and the same can be easily closed. As described, the opening operation is simple and the container is brought to fully open position so that the contents may be removed without being crushed or misshapen. The container has been amply demonstrated in actual practice, found to be very successful and efficient, and the same is being commercially made.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the device and in the steps and sequence of steps of the method without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in a method and device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, such as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

The device of this application is a further development and improvement of that shown in applicants eopending application, S.N. 341,209, now Patent No. 2,800,267,

4t filed March 9, 1953, for Method and Means for Opening Container.

What is claimed is:

l. A container the body of which is made from a sheet of flexible non-metallic material having a layer of thin metallic foil on each side of said non-metallic sheet, said composite sheet being bent into tubular form with marginal overlapping edge portions, 21 line of scoring below and adjacent an initially open end of the tubular body, said line of scoring extending across the full width of the composite sheet and comprising a line of spaced perforations confined to the flexible non-metallic material, a strip of adhesive sealing material interposed between the marginal overlapping edge portions and extending across the line of scoring to secure the container body in tubular form, covers secured and sealed to the ends of said tubular body, one of said covers having spaced edge flanges in compressible sealed relationship with the initially open end of the tubular body above the line of scoring and including the overlapped marginal edge portions thereof and interposed sealing strip, said sealed container being depressibly rupturable and severable from its end cover along the line of scoring except for positive unsevered connection of the cover to the tubular body locally in the area of the sealing strip and overlapped sealed marginal edges thereof, and said container being adapted to be longitudinally severed by relative movement between the locally connected cover and tubular body of the container to rip open the tubular body along a stepped edge of the overlapped sealed marginal edge portions thereof.

2. A container the body of which is made from a sheet of flexible non-metallic material having a layer of thin metallic foil on each side of said non-metallic sheet, said composite sheet being bent into tubular form with marginal overlapping edge portions, a line of spaced perforations below and adjacent an initially open end of the tubular body, said line of spaced perforations extending across the full Width of the composite sheet and being confined to the flexible non-metallic material, a strip of adhesive sealing material reinforced by longitudinally extending fibres interposed between the marginal overlapping edge portions and extending across the line of spaced perforations to secure the container body in tubular form, covers secured and sealed to the ends of said tubular body, at least one of said covers being positively connected in part to the tubular body by the overlapped marginal edge portions thereof and interposed sealing strip above the line of spaced perforations, said sealed container being depressibly rupturable along the line of spaced perforations to separate the end cover thereabove from the tubular body except for localized hinged connection of the cover to the tubular body adjacent the sealing strip and overlapped sealed marginal edges thereof, and said container being adapted to be longitudinally severed by relative movement between the positively connected cover and tubular body of the container to rip open the tubular body along a stepped edge of the overlapped sealed marginal edge portions thereof.

3. A container the body of which is made from a sheet of flexible paper-like material having a layer of thin metallic foil on each side of said paper-like sheet, said composite sheet being bent into tubular form with marginal overlapping edge portions, a line of spaced perforations below and adjacent an initially open end of the tubular body, said line of spaced perforations extending across the full width of the composite sheet and being confined to the flexible paper-like material, said foil on the outer surface of the tubular body being pressed unbrokenly inwardly into the perforations in the paper-like material, a strip of sealing material reinforced by longitudinally extending fibres interposed between the marginal overlapping edge portions and extending across the line of spaced perforations to secure the container body in tubular form, covers secured and sealed to the ends of said tubular body, one of said covers having spaced edge flanges in compressible sealed relationship with the initially open end of the tubular body above the line of spaced perforations and including the overlapped marginal edge portions thereof and interposed sealing strip, said sealed container being rupturable along the line of spaced perforations to separate the end cover thereabove from the tubular body except for hinged connection of the cover to the tubular body through the overlapped sealed reinforced marginal edges thereof, and said container being adapted to be longitudinally severed by relative movement between the hingedly connected cover and tubular body thereof to rip open the tubular body along a stepped edge of the overlapped sealed marginal edge portions of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 949,036 Jenkins Feb. 15, 1910 6 Maltby Feb. 27, 1917 Gerritson Mar. 29, 1921 Hastings Aug. 9, 1921 Dunhill Apr. 15, 1924 Flynn Oct. 8, 1929 Fallows June 5, 1934 Marshall Mar. 10, 1936 Snyder Nov. 17, 1936 Atwater Oct. 26, 1937 Hasbrook Nov. 14, 1939 Cage Feb. 6, 1940 ONeil et a1. Oct. 5, 1943 Johnson Feb. 1, 1944 McCrery Nov. 6, 1945 Gottesman Feb. 20, 1951 McFarland et a1 Sept. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1903 

